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WELCOME TO NASA's HINODE WEBSITE!
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Hinode (Sunrise), a project to study the Sun, is exploring
the magnetic fields of the Sun, and is improving our understanding of the mechanisms that power the solar atmosphere and drive solar eruptions.
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New Cycle Spot Appears in the Southern Hemisphere
May 5, 2008
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NOAA active region 10993 (AR 10993) is the first new cycle spot to appear in the southern hemisphere. The image on the left shows a magnetogram of that region; positive polarity is displayed as white and negative as black. The image on the right shows the location of the active region and the pointing of Hinode on the disk of the Sun (click on the image for a larger view, 510 kb).
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5 May 2008 SOHO/MDI Intensity Image and Magnetogram:
The images above are from the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory's (SOHO) Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI). The magnetograph image on the right shows the location and magnetic configuration of AR 10993. Positive polarity magnetic field is represented with white and negative polarity with black. New cycle spots in the southern hemisphere will appear with positive polarity on the western (right) side of the sunspot. For new cycle spots in the northern hemisphere, the reverse is true (negative polarity to the west). Compare with the northern hemisphere new cycle spot of 15 April, 2008.
Old cycle spots that appear in the southern hemisphere will have negative (black) polarity on the western side (and will also be close to the equator).
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More Hinode XRT images may be found at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO).
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The solar surface (photosphere) has had no numbered spots since 6 May 2008 (see the Solar Monitor), although the MDI magnetogram shows evidence of magnetic disturbance today (16 May 2008). In the last two days (May 14 - May 16), there have been no flares (as seen by GOES ). For an explanation of flare classes, go to Space Weather's Classification of X-ray Solar Flares.
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